


Deathly Encounters

by TsunaNoble



Series: Umi no Musuko [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Doctor Who References, Fetch Quest, First Sequel!!, Gen, Magicians-Kane Chronicles, Near Death Experiences, Racist Character, anime influences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsunaNoble/pseuds/TsunaNoble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You would think that after saving all of Japan, killing an evil eight headed dragon, and preventing a war between the Olympian and the Shinto gods would earn me a break, but nope. Here I am, dealing with gods and magicians and even bloody penguins!</p>
<p>Giving up the start of my Christmas Break just to go on Ares's little fetch quest is not something I wanted to do, but with Ares it's 'Do as I say or get vaporized.'</p>
<p>But something from my past is coming to haunt me, and only by fulfilling this quest will I be free to live my life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Do A Favor For A God

            This is seriously not how I expected to start my Christmas vacation. I mean, come on! I just saved Japan! I was hoping to have a nice relaxing time, sipping peppermint hot chocolate while sitting next to the Jackson family Christmas tree after a few days at Camp, but _nnnoooo_ , I have to do what the Olympian gods tell me. Getting treated like I’m a bug, and being sent where I get blasted with magic. You heard me right. Magic.

            Some of you might know who I am, but for those of you who don’t, my name is Tsunayoshi Noble, but just call me Tsuna. Recently, I just learned that the ancient gods that humanity used to worship are real and very much alive. At the same time, I lost my mom. But then, I found a new family with none other than Percy Jackson as my adopted brother. Oh, I forgot to mention that I’m the son of Susanoo. Yes, the Shinto gods were real, well are…it’s really complicated. Anyways, you can say that this started like any other day, well…any other day when you’re a demigod.

            As a teenager with ADHD, I have to tell you that, in my opinion, History is absolute torture. The only good thing about it is that Percy is with me in the class, so at least we can help each other. And the only reason we even have History is because we missed a large chunk of the school year due to saving Japan. So we needed this class to make up the credits. That doesn’t make it any more fun though.

            I was bored out of my mind. Taking a look to my right I saw Percy was twirling Riptide in its pen form around his fingers. I was doodling absent mindedly, only half paying attention to Miss Fore the teacher. Funny thing about Miss Fore. She was born in Norway and is pretty buff for a woman. And she stands a good six feet in flats. Because of all this, she has a nickname around school as Miss Thor, after the Marvel superhero. She actually likes it, as she is a big Marvel fan.

“Tsuna.” Miss Fore said. I looked up at her standing next to the whiteboard.

“Sorry, what was the question?” I asked.

“I asked you to tell me what was the breaking point for America to decide to enter the Second World War.” she asked.

I looked over to Percy, half wanting to say ‘It was this giant dragon monster called the Orochi and he was a DICK, but don’t worry me and my friends got rid of him!’ but I’m pretty sure that isn’t the answer she wants to hear. “Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.”

“And why did Japan attack this particular naval base?” she asked.

“A preemptive strike.” I said, though that’s only about half right.

“Correct.” She went back to her lesson, apparently happy that I was paying some attention to her.

            Not even a minute after she turned to write something on the whiteboard my ear was being flicked. Letting out a breath of annoyance I turned see what the greatest pain in the ass of Goode High School wanted. Percy was already glaring at the Ginger bully.

“I guess all you chinks are sneaky little bastards huh?” Dylan whispered. He was loud enough that he wanted Percy to hear it, but quiet enough that Miss Fore couldn’t catch his racist comment.

I raised my eyebrow, completely unimpressed. “That the best you got?” He shot me a dirty look before slumping in his desk in defeat.

“Now I know you are all excited for Christmas Break,” said Miss Fore, “But remember that we have a test the first Friday you come back,” Everybody groaned as she kept talking. “So make sure to reread chapter 12-15 at least once during your break. And since we have a few minutes before class ends, let’s have a lightning review. Cassie, name the people who Hitler…”

            At that moment her voice went away. I could see her mouth move but no sound came out. And then everything went all ‘Silent Hill’, turning a dull gold-ish grey. I turned to Percy, only to see him blow away like dust. I was all alone in this now abandoned and rundown class room. I tried to remain calm despite my heart beating like I just jumped off Olympus.

“Tsunayoshi.” I jumped at the mention of my name. Sitting on Miss Fore’s decrepit desk was none other than my grandmother Izanami. “It’s good to see you again.”

“This is a bit over the top for you, isn’t it?” I asked after taking a breath to calm myself.

“Maybe, but I thought I’d try something different.” she said.

“What do you want this time?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

“Is it wrong for me to come visit my dear grandson?” she wondered, acting all innocent.

I let out a breath of frustration. “This is getting ridiculous Bāchan.” I said. “Please, just leave me alone. Let me live my life.”

“No.” She said immediately, losing the love in her voice. She stood up and walked over to, and then leaned over my desk. “You were dead Tsuna. You belong with me, in the Yomi. I must keep balance to the Natural Order.”

“We’ve been through this like a thousand times,” I said, “Ryūjin traded his life for mine.”

Bāchan let out a snort before she walked over to Percy’s desk to lean against. “Wasn’t a fair trade. I mean, a god’s life for that of a demigods’? In what world is that fair?”

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

“I want your soul, with me, in the Yomi.” she said as she grabbed my chin tightly. “You have no idea how much trouble the other Reapers have been giving me.”

“Reapers?” I asked. She didn’t answer me, just forcing me to stand up. I heard my chair slam against the floor.

“Just come with me Tsuna, please.” Was she actually begging? She even started shaking me. “You don’t want _him_ to take you.”

            I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to die again any time soon, or leave Percy or Sally, or gods forbid…Nico…The fact that my Bāchan, my only grandmother wanted me dead hurt, but it made me angry, angry enough that my jaw was starting to hurt from how tightly I was clenching my jaw. The Yasakani no Magatama was glowing hot against my chest, radiating in their power.

“This is the last time I’m going to tell you Bāchan.” I warned. The Magatama glowed even brighter. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Tsuna!!” Percy yelled.

            After blinking my eyes I saw that Izanami was gone and that Percy was the one who was shaking me. Miss Fore was there next to him, visibly concerned. My other classmates had a mixture of emotions on their faces. A few of them were concerned about me, others had a look of ‘what’s his problem’, and a very small, select group (who am I kidding, it’s just Dylan and his best friend Joey.) Their faces screamed ‘what a freak!’

“I’m sorry.” I said, but it was so quiet I could barely hear myself. As soon as the bell rang I ran out of class, leaving Percy calling out to me.

            I ran straight for the restroom and locked the door. I leaned against it and tried to calm down. I’m almost considering transferring schools to avoid the embarrassment that Dylan will be sure to spread like wildfire. The downside? I won’t be close to my brother… options, options. After throwing water on my face someone started knocking on the restroom door.

“Tsuna, let me in.” It was Percy, obviously. Who else would hunt me down in this school? I unlocked the door and stood back as he came in. “You okay?” I nodded, not really feeling like talking, so we stood there as the bell for last period rang, and stood there silent for another five minutes. “So you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” I said.

“Tsuna…” Percy said, being his stubborn, overly protective self.

“I’m alright Percy.” I said.  His face screamed disbelief. “I am. I just needed a minute to calm down.

Percy sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know.” I said as I took his hand in mine. I gripped it tightly, as if that simple action would reassure him that I was alright. “Come on, we’re late for gym.”

            Despite doing the ten laps around the court for being late, I felt much better after we played basketball. It was a good distraction that brought my spirits up. Being voted team captain with Dylan forcing himself to be the other team’s captain, and then kicking his butt left, right, and center really helped. Percy and I were drenched in sweat, since we had to pick up the slack of the less than athletic members of our team.

            I personally hate public showers, but if I didn’t take one I’d fail gym. But the running water did relax me, so I guess it was okay. Walking out of the steam I got redressed into my civvies. Before I slipped my shirt on Dylan saw my necklace.

“Hey fag!” Dylan sneered. “Where’d you get that necklace?”

“Leave him alone Dylan.” Percy said, although it wasn’t as threatening as it could be since he was standing in only his Aquaman boxers (Paul has a great sense of humor).

            Dylan ignored him and grabbed for the necklace as I was putting it on. I slapped his hand away and glared at him. He pushed me against the lockers, pissing Percy off. As Dylan touched my necklace again Percy pulled him away and went to slug the fat Ginger, but I yelled for him to stop.

“He’s not worth it.” I said. “Just finish getting dressed so we can go home, okay Perce?”

            I grabbed my backpack and waited for Percy right outside the locker room. Dylan and his lackey came out first and sneered at me, walking away with a comment along the lines of “Aww, look who’s waiting for his boyfriend like a good little bitch!” His little gay jokes were getting old real fast. He really needs to get new material.

“Did he just say what I heard him say?” Percy asked when he walked out of the locker.

“If you’re talking about Dylan’s gay jokes, then yes.” I said. “But it’s not worth getting upset about.”

“I don’t like him talking to you like that though.” Percy said.

“Percy, if it really bothered me I would make him shut up, but it doesn’t.” I said. “Can we go home now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” he said. Although by the time we got to the main entrance, he had to go back. “I forgot my history book in my locker. Just wait by the front gate for five minutes, okay?”

“Just don’t get sidetracked by a monster again.” I said, remembering what happened two weeks ago with the Harpy.

“I’m just getting my book, no need to worry.” he said. “I’ll be five minutes tops.”

“I’ll be keeping track.” I said, waving him off as I walked out into the cool November air.

            As soon as I stepped outside I saw Dylan standing next to the gate, acting as if he’s the most amazing thing to grace the planet with his lackeys Tyler and Fred. I blew out of the breath, knowing that he’ll get bored with tormenting at some point if I just ignore him, and walked over to the gate and leaned against the wall. But as expected Dylan and Tyler came over to annoy the hell out of me.

“Yo! Tuna fishy!” Well, that one’s new, although a bit pathetic, even for him. “Let me see your necklace.”

“And you’re interested in my necklace because…?” I asked.

“Because I think its cool.” he said mockingly.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Thanks” I said sarcastically. “Now leave me alone.”

“No need to be rude.” Dylan said. “I just want to see it.” He made a grab for my necklace but I slapped it out of the way.

“I told you to keep your filthy hands off.” I threated.

            He must be spoiled, or at least self-entitled because his face was almost purple with how angry he must be. He punched at me, but I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, and his arm, behind his back. As I held his arm back he tried struggling out of my grip. His friends tried to help but I pushed Dylan into them, knocking all three to the ground. Thank you demigod combat training.

“Beat it Dylan.” I warned. “I’m really not in the mood to deal with you today.”

“Oh really?” Dylan asked as he was helped up.

            He smirked and nodded his head. His friends swooped in on my sides and held me against the wall. They were a lot stronger than they looked, and they had a tight grip around my arms. As I struggled against their hold my necklace came out from underneath my shirt. Dylan smirked and grabbed it. I yelled at him to not touch it, but he slapped me across the face before ripping it off my neck.

“Get your greasy hands off my Treasures!” I yelled. Dylan’s goons laughed.

“You think this is a treasure?” Dylan asked as he inspected the Yasakani no Magatama and the Yata no Kagami. “This looks so cheap, I doubt I could get ten bucks for it.

“ _He’s as Mortal as it gets_.” I thought. How did Percy describe his first step-father? Moldy garlic pizza wrapped in sweaty gym shorts? That pretty much describes Dylan to a ‘t’. “ _What exactly is he seeing_?”

“Where did you get this from?” Dylan asked. “A .99 cent store?”

“It’s a family heirloom.” I said with a glare. “Give. It. Back. Now.”

“How did you even get it?” he asked. “Your bitch of a mother is dead.”

            That was the last straw. I struggled with all my strength against Tyler and Fred, breaking free enough to almost wrap my hands around Dylan’s three chins. But his goons grabbed my shoulders and threw me back against the wall. They held me in place as Dylan slammed his fist in my stomach. After another punch Tyler and Fred let me slide down on the ground clutching my stomach.

“Just for that I’m keeping this cheap piece of crap.” he said, waving my necklace around.

“Please…” I begged, feeling sick for doing so. “Don’t take it. Just give it back.”

Dylan gave me a smirk and bent down to look me in the eye. When I wouldn’t look at him he grabbed my chin to force me to look him in the eyes. “If you want this back, you just need to do one little thing.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Admit that I’m better than you.” he said. “In every way. I want you to know your place.”

“What did I ever do to you?” I asked while looking at him like he’s crazy.

“Nothing really.” Dylan said, which surprised me. “I just don’t like you.” He then looked me over before giving me a face of disgust. “And I don’t like mutts.”

“Freaking little Nazi.” I muttered under my breath.

“What’s going on here?” I looked up and saw Percy, his fists clenched. He was showing a remarkable amount of self-control. “Get away from him right now.”

            Dylan huffed, deciding that with Percy around it wasn’t worth antagonizing me. He ordered his friends to follow him, without returning my necklace. Standing up quickly I grabbed his shoulder to turn him around before ripping my necklace out of his chubby hands. As soon as they were gone Percy went into his over protective brother mode.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there Tsuna.” He said as he made sure there were no bruises anywhere Sally or Paul could see. “I shouldn’t have taken so long, but Paul wanted to get ideas for Mom’s Christmas present and I-”

“It’s alright Percy.” I said. “I’m alright. Can we just go home? It’s been a long day.”

“Tsuna you need to stop bottling all this up.” Percy said. “Please just talk to-” I silenced him with a glare that would make even Nico back down. “Alright Tsuna, but we need to talk at some point, okay?”

“When I feel like it.” I said.

            Our walk home was taking a lot longer than usual. Traffic was just really bad today, and I saw that several people were having bad days as well with how bad their driving was. Percy was going on about how he can’t wait to see Annabeth. They’ve been apart for a month and a half, and Percy has been driving me bonkers over how much he misses her. I mean, Annabeth is great, but he really needs to stop with it. It’s not like they don’t IM each other every other day.

“So have you heard from Nico?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, last Saturday while you, Sally and Paul went out.” I said

“While you were sick?” he wondered.

“I was bored, and I haven’t been able to reach him since Japan, until then.” I said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“He told me not to tell anyone.” I said. “I was worried about him, but he assured me he was fine. I think he was somewhere in California.”

“How do you know?” Percy asked.

“Well, it was sunny, and then there was the Hollywood sign in the dista-” I said, but I tripped off the sidewalk onto the road.

“Tsuna look out!” Percy yelled.

            I looked up and saw a car coming straight for me. I couldn’t move, frozen with fear. I could hear the horn being honked and Percy screaming, but I just couldn’t move. This is just like last time. The only think different this time was that Bāchan was sitting in the passenger seat of the oncoming car. She was giving me a sweet smile, as if she thought that would make this any better for me.

“Tsuna!” Percy screamed as he pulled me out of the road, the car that was about to hit me honking its horn.

            I don’t know what came over me. I just broke down in Percy’s arms. I have faced monsters and stood up to gods. I have already died once in order to save my friends. But sitting there on the ground, with my death literally about to run me down, it finally hit me how scared I was for my life, how scared I was to die.

            I cried into Percy’s chest, not able to stop making a scene. I could feel people staring as Percy held onto me. He tried his best to calm me, but it wasn’t working. After being yelled at by some random jerk (there’s a lot of them in New York I came to find out) Percy helped me up and led me to an alley way so we could get some privacy and to give me time to calm down.

            It took several minutes, but I did eventually calm down. Percy put his arm around my shoulder in a one armed hug. I pulled in on myself, bringing my knees to my chest. We didn’t say anything. I didn’t really feel like talking.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going?” he asked. I shook my head. “Please Tsuna, just talk to me. I’ve never seen you freak out like that.”

I was quiet for a little longer. But with Percy as protectively stubborn as he is, it would be better to just tell him. “I’m being haunted by my grandmother.” I whispered.

“What?” asked Percy.

“My grandmother wants me to join her in the Yomi.” I said louder. “Izanami, that’s her name. She’s the Shinto Goddess of Creation and Death.”

“Why do you think she’s haunting you?” wondered Percy.

“Ever since we came back from Japan, she’s been appearing before me.” I explained, not looking at him, just staring at the wall in front of me. “She’s been telling me to kill myself and go back to the Yomi.”

“Tsuna we’ve been back for almost two months.” Percy said. “Wait, that’s why you freaked out in class today?” I nodded. “But, I thought you said Ryūjin traded his life for yours?”

I let out a sad chuckle. “Apparently, a gods’ life is worth much more than that of a demigods’.” I said. “According to Bāchan it wasn’t a fair trade.”

“So you’ve been seeing her at random times?” Percy asked.

“At first it was just nightmares.” I admitted. “But then she started appearing while I was awake. It started off as just seeing her in the corner of my eye, almost like the Silence, but then she started to get more up front with what she wanted. And she was in the car that was about to hit me.”

“Tsuna, I won’t let you die anytime soon, you know that right?” Percy said. “I already lost you once; I don’t want to lose you again. I would go to the Yomi myself to save you, and I’ll do it without an exchange.”

I smiled. “I know you will.” We hugged each other tightly.

“Come on.” Percy said after he helped me up. “We should get going. “Mom’s cooking a special dinner before we go back to camp, remember?”

“Like I would miss Sally’s homemade lasagna.” I said. “You know, the funny thing is that was the second time I almost got ran over.”

“When was the first time?” Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It happened a few years ago.” I said. “I was…thirteen? Fourteen? Anyway me and my mom were down in San Francisco for one of her symposiums of all things marine and nautical. I don’t know, it bored me most of the time. So this one time mom let me go to the pier by myself, since the hotel was just a few blocks away from the ocean. But as I was crossing the road a car came barreling around the corner. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for him.”

“Him? Who’s ‘him’?” Percy asked

“This blonde kid, maybe a year younger than me.” I said. “He tackled me out of the road as the car zoomed pass.”

“Did you get his name?” Percy asked.

I shook my head. “He was gone before I could thank him. I tried looking for him up until Mom and I left San Fran, but do you know how hard it is to find a blonde kid with a scar on his lip? It’s a lot harder than you think.”

            We joked back and forth as we walked back home. Percy told me that Annabeth is planning something romantic for the two of them. As I told him not to do anything stupid to mess it up, I started to feel…really irritated. No, make that angry. Really angry. Angry at Bāchan for wanting me to die, and even more angry at Dylan. I wanted to find him and punch his face in until my knuckles bleed.

“Ares?” Percy said. That got my attention, because then I noticed the god of war leaning against a large Harley Davidson, grinning like a mad man. “What do you want?”

“Nothing really pipsqueak.” Ares said. “Just need a favor.”

“And here I was hoping to live a normal life.” I said. “There’s no way we can say no, is there?”

“Nope.” Ares said with a cocky smirk.

“What do you need us to do?” Percy asked. “We have plans you know.”

“I want nothing from you little cousin.” Ares said. “This is only for the Shinto whelp.”

“Why just me?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you later.” said Ares. “Now hop on and shut up.”

            Ares jumped onto his bike and revved the engine. It was so loud that Percy and I had to cover our ears, and I felt the whole block shake. I’m surprised that none of the windows were busted. I looked over at Percy, because I really didn’t want to do Ares’s little quest. Is it still technically a quest if there isn’t a prophecy?

“I really hate to say this Tsuna,” started Percy, “But you should just go with him. It’s better to get their stupid requests done and over with.” Ares revved his engine again. Geez, you think that with two thousand years under his belt he would have more patience. But he is the god of war, patience isn’t his strong suit.

“Fine.” I said. “Tell Sally I’ll be late for dinner.”

Percy pulled me into a hug, probably for good luck. “Worst case scenario I’ll see you at Camp. Just don’t get yourself killed, alright?”

“I’ll try to avoid being killed.” I said. “Oh, if you see Nico at Camp, ask him to come over for Christmas for me.”

“Will do.” Percy said as we bumped our fists.

“Hurry up!” Ares said.

“I’m coming!!” I screamed. I stomped over to the motorcycle and got on. It took everything in me to ignore the fact that the seat had to be made out of human skin.

“Here, you’re going to need this.” Ares said as he handed me a helmet. It wasn’t a motorcycle helmet though, it was a Spartan war helmet, just like the ones at that we use in Capture the Flag at Camp. It was solid bronze, maybe even Celestial Bronze, with a blood red plume.

“Uh, this isn’t going to help.” I said.

“What?” Ares asked. “Oh. Right.” The helmet changed in my hands into a standard motorcycle helmet. It still was bronze but with a black visor. The blood red plumage was still there, making it look gaudy.

            Percy waved me off as Ares yelled ‘Hold on!’ I barely had enough time to grab onto the god’s leather jacket before he Ares blasted off like a rocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think?
> 
> When I wrote this story I was largely inspired by The Son of Sobek and Staff of Serapis.


	2. There's a Battle Here in Brooklyn House

            Imagine riding on a rabid tiger through a powerful hurricane. Got that in your head? Now, imagine that that tiger made of metal, and remote controlled by a guy with intense anger management issues and you’ll get a general picture of my ride with Ares. I didn’t believe for a second that holding onto Ares would keep me alive.

            It was terrible. I was screaming my head off, all the while trying not to be thrown off. Ares was a maniac, to put it mildly. For several minutes of random and sudden twists and turns I was sure I left my stomach three blocks ago. And Ares was cussing out everyone we passed since they weren’t doing their 'duty' as mortals and getting out of his way. A lot of it was in Ancient Greek, and I really don’t think I should translate it.

            And then all of a sudden there we came to a complete stop. I slid into Ares’s back because of the momentum. Ares shoved me off of him as he put the stand down. I was pissed. Maybe it was Ares’s influence, maybe not. But either way I can’t believe he did this.

“What the Hell was that?!” I asked, standing up and slamming the helmet on the ground. “Are you trying to get me killed?!”

“Quit your whining.” Ares said. “We’re here.”

“Here?” I asked. “Where exactly is here?”

            There wasn’t anything around except abandoned warehouses. There was ivy growing along the sides of the buildings. A few of the warehouses were so old that their windows were broken and spider webs were made in their empty frames. It was, well, spooky. The only thing not scary was the fact I could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

“So, if you haven’t noticed we’re in Brooklyn.” Ares said as he took a knife from his boot and started to polish it.

“Why are we in Brooklyn?” I asked.

“See that abandoned warehouse over there?” the god craned his neck to his left. I looked where I was told, and just saw another abandoned warehouse that looked just like the others, maybe a little taller.

“What’s so special about that specific one?” I asked, not getting the reason I was dragged from family dinner.

“Look closer, beyond the Mist, idiot.” Ares said.

            After glaring at him I focused my attention back on the abandoned warehouse. It took a little bit of time and effort, but soon the Mist faded away. Standing atop the warehouse was a large, five story mansion. From here, it looked like it was made out of stone. Ares handed me a pair of binoculars and told me to scout out the mansion from here. I didn’t know why he wanted me to scout it out, but I did since getting Ares angry probably isn’t the best thing to do.

            I didn’t really see anything of importance. All the windows looked to be framed in steel, and there were these weird symbols surrounding them. I know I saw symbols like those before somewhere, but I couldn’t remember where.

“Why is that place so important that you need me?” I asked. “Is it something that belongs to one of the Olympians?”

“No it doesn’t belong to the Olympians.” Ares said in a voice mocking my own. Jerk. “An old friend of mine has lost something very important.”

“You have friends?” I asked. Ares glared at me, and I think there was fire coming out from behind his sunglasses. “Sorry.”

“As I was saying,” continued Ares, “My friend has lost something very important, and it has fallen into the hands of an enemy of Olympus.”

“Okay, then why am I here?” I asked impatiently. “If it’s so important, couldn’t you just go in there, guns blazing and get it back for your friend?”

“If it was that simple I wouldn’t have wasted my time in recruiting you for this.” Ares said.

“So what exactly do you want me to do?” I asked.

“It’s really simple, even you could do it.” Ares said. I’m just going to ignore that insult for now. “Just go in and get what I wan- what the Egyptians stole.”

“Wait, Egyptians?” I said. Chiron already told me that they dealt with the Egyptian Pantheon before, but I never expected to encounter them. “Are you telling me that house is filled with Egyptian demigods?”

“No, that would be stupid.” said Ares. “It’s normally filled with magicians.” The god of war cut me off before I could ask what he meant by magicians. “But right now, the house is empty, so it’s safe to go in.” He started pushing me towards the mansion. “Oh, and be careful of the trap spells.”

“Trap spells?” I asked worriedly. Ares kept pushing me forward. “Are you going to tell me what you want me to find?”

“It’s none of your busin- oh, why am I even bothering?” Ares asked himself. “Look, it’s a curved blade made of Stygian Iron ad Thanatos lost it. Just go in there and get it.”

“The god of death lost his tool?” I asked. “So why can’t he go get it?”

“Because the Egyptians stole it!” Wow, he’s really impatient. “Now go!”

“You’re afraid to start something, aren’t you?” I asked. “A bit ironic that the god of war wouldn’t want to start something like a battle. If I remember right, you were so excited to fight my pantheon.”

Ares was quiet for a moment, trying to calm down I think. “I can’t start anything brat.” he said. “If I go in there now, they’ll know and get angry enough to challenge us Olympians. But if you go in, a half breed demigod from two pantheons, they’ll just go after you.”

“So I’m your scapegoat?” I asked. “No thanks. I’d rather not be the cause of a war between the Greeks and Egyptians.” Waving him off I started to walk back to the apartment.

“If you walk away you’ll be the cause for the death of your new family.” Ares said as he teleported right in front of me.

“You leave them out of this.” I said. “They have no part in this.”

“Oh they do squirt.” Ares said. “They took you in, and you care for them. And if you don’t want anything to happen to Jackson’s parents then you will go in there and get back what was stolen.”

“Fine.” I said, glaring at the god of war. “But you and I will have a talk about that threat of yours Ares. I’m not your ordinary demigod.” The Three Sacred Regalia glowed with my threat to Ares.

“Your father sealed the power of those Treasures.” Ares pointed out. “You can’t do anything with them.”

“I’ve been practicing.” I said. “Wanna find out firsthand how good I am with them?”

“Hm.” Ares shrugged off my threat. “You’re not as powerful as you think you are kid. Your father sealed away a lot of their power to appease Lord Zeus, so whatever you can do are parlor tricks compared to what they can do. So my threat still stands.”

            I was trying to take deep breaths in order to calm down, but I was failing at that. Ares was telling the truth. I should have expected a god, even a god as thick headed as Ares, to tell that the Treasures are far from full power. He was at the Council meeting and witnessed my father seal them after all.

“Fine.” I said. “I’ll do it.”

“Good.” Ares sneered, and I oh so wanted to stab him. But I would just make him angry and get either vaporized or endanger Sally and Paul.

“But how will I know what I’m supposed to bring back?” I asked. “You gave me a vague description of it.”

“Trust me,” Ares said, “You’ll know it when you see it.”

“Pft. Whatever.” I said.

“And don’t do anything stupid boy.” Ares warned. Aww, he does care.

            Getting into the warehouse itself was easy enough. It was far from guarded. It was as easy as kicking a door down, literally. I think that it was a homeless camp at one time, or very recently. Long story short the place was filthy. Broken glass and dust and garbage littered the ground, and it smelled like mold and other unspeakable things.

            I kept expecting something to pop out to attack or defend the warehouse, but no, nothing. I was also wary of the trap spells that Ares warned me about. I admit that when I first met Lou Ellen and her siblings of the Hecate Cabin I was curious about how magic works, but between going to Japan and then having to go to back to school right away I sort of forgot about magic.

            It took a lot of effort to get to the roof of the warehouse. A few of the staircases were torn down; due to old age or magical precautions I don’t know. I had to pull some really sweet moves to get to one floor, if I do say so myself. Because the staircase was broken apart, I had to wall run as far as I could up the wall and stab my sword into the wall. Pulling myself up I carefully angled myself so I could jump to the ledge. After jumping I nearly slipped and fell but I caught myself by stabbing the Ame no Murakumo into the ledge.

            And once I got to the roof the mansion looked even more magnificent. While it had the simplistic stone design, it was that simplicity that made it spectacular. While I’m sure Annabeth would go on and on about the techniques involved to make such a place and what improvements she would have made, I’m pretty sure that even she would agree that it was awesome.

            As I walked to the front door I saw a shadow pass from overhead. Looking up I saw the tail of something big go over the edge of the roof. I really hoped that I wasn’t going to fight anything here, especially a monster. I decided to keep low as I made it to the front door.

            Or should I say a block of wood? Cause that’s what it was. A large block of wood. There were more of those symbols that I saw earlier carved into and around the door. And now that I had a better look at them I finally realized that they were Egyptian hieroglyphics. It makes sense really, since this is an Egyptian household, and I felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.

            I tried everything I could to get the door open. There were no handles or knobs, so I couldn’t pull the door open. Pushing was out of the question. I attempted to, but it wouldn’t budge. I was standing there like an idiot, trying to push it open. It was almost funny, I guess, if someone came along and saw me just sliding on the floor like a cartoon or something.

            But it didn’t have a seam or anything indicating there were two doors. That should have been my first clue. I half wanted to use my sword to cut my way in, but that would leave evidence of my…visit, here. Plus it might get the attention of whatever flew overhead and onto the roof.

I banged my fist on the door in frustration. “Why won’t you open?!” I yelled under my breath.

            Suddenly, there was this faint bluish ripple of light that went across the door. A seam ran down the middle of the wood as it just barely opened. I freaked out a bit because it might be someone coming out. I know Ares said the place was empty but he could be lying. I ran around the corner and held my breath in fear that it would give me away. Nothing happened, so I took the Yata no Kagami and used it to see around the corner. There wasn’t anybody standing there, so I carefully walked back to the door, my guard up for anything unexpected.

            I pushed the door open slowly, cringing at how the door creaked and moaned as I did. At times like these I wished I was a ninja. And as I entered the mansion, I was impressed with the décor. The ceiling was made out of a nice, polished looking wood and stretched up about four stories. It was being supported by four large pillars that had more hieroglyphics carved onto them. There were even balconies for people to look out on.

            The walls were lined with what looked like instruments and weaponry. I looked through the weapons for anything made out of Stygian Iron like Ares said what I was looking for was made out of but nothing here was made out of that metal. I followed the weapons up until I ended up at a fireplace large enough to park a car in. Why would anyone need such a fireplace escapes me. But above it was an impressive plasma screen TV. It had to be at least a 130 inches, and I wanted it _soooo_ bad.

            It was basically a massive home theater system and I was so jealous like you wouldn’t believe. I took a chance and sat on one of the leather (I repeat, leather) sofas. It was so comfortable, and I couldn’t but imagine watching Lord of the Rings or playing Final Fantasy 15 in a set up like this. Looks like I know how my living room is going to be set up when I move out of Sally’s house.

            I could go without the giant snakeskin rug in front of the fireplace though. After dealing with the Orochi I gained a personal hatred for snakes. Walking back to the center of the room I looked up at the statue of an Egyptian god made of black marble. It had the head of a bird and the body of a man holding a piece of paper and a quill. Egyptian mythology never really interested me, if I’m being honest, so I couldn’t tell you which god the statue was representing.

            There was a doorway that has a series of stairs leading down. I don’t know how anything could be lower than the first floor of the mansion since there’s nothing but the empty, abandoned warehouse beneath us. I guess if there is an answer it would be magic.

            Going down the three story flight of stairs I soon found myself in a large library. The floor looked like a man made out of dirt and sand, and the ceiling looked like a woman covered in swirling stars and clouds. All along the walls were pictures of what I assumed were the Egyptian gods and their pantheons monsters, and numerous people in different colors.

            There were scrolls and books in cubbies, but no weapons. I don’t know why I thought there would be weapons, especially stolen Greek weapons, in an Egyptian library. As I walked through the lines of book cases I saw something in the corner of my eye. Thinking it was one of the magicians I hid behind the bookcase. I took a chance and peered around the corner and realized that what I saw was just a statue.

            After letting out a sigh of relief I continued to look around. In the center of the library was a stone map of the world. It had random lights here and there, like in Egypt and here in New York. These had to be locations of mansions like this. I was really disturbed by the light that was in Japan. I remembered that Sōjōbō said that there was Egyptians in Japan, so that light had to be their base. It kinda bothered me that they just moved on in when my pantheon was dying, and if I met the leader of the magicians we would have to talk about that. But that was a mental note for later. I already have to deal with what Ares wants me to do.

            It got to the point where I thought I could find a clue or something by looking through the scrolls and books. Stupid idea I know, but worth a try. But most of everything was written in hieroglyphics, so I couldn’t read those. And what was written in English became a jumbled mess because of my Dyslexia.

            I heard something walking into the library. With the sound it made with each step it didn’t sound human. I dove underneath the desk I was using and prayed that it was a good enough hiding place. As I peered from underneath the desk I saw webbed feet attacked to the legs of something with black and white feathers.

“ _What in the name of Zeus’s underpants_?” I thought. “ _Why is there a penguin here_?”

            The penguin squawked, and it was louder than I expected. It shuffled closer and started pecking at the desk as if it knew I was here. I didn’t move an inch, nor did I take a breath for fear of being discovered. And then to make matters worse, someone came running in.

“There you are!” the voice sounded scratchy, but I could tell it belonged to a little boy. “Why are you down here?” He sniffled. The kid must be sick, no wonder he’s here. “Come on; let’s go back to my room. I want to read those comics Walt bought me.” The kid leaned down and picked the penguin up.

“Ares you gods damned liar.” I said quietly. “You said there was no one in here!”

            Once I was sure the coast was clear I got out from under the desk and rushed to front door. But as I put my hand on the handle (which are only on the inside, apparently) I realized that Ares wouldn’t let me leave without Thanatos’s, uh, thing. I mentally groaned, because I didn’t want to encounter any magician, especially a kid. But if I’m stealthy enough I should be able to avoid him, and his penguin.

            I found a staircase leading to the next floor. Once there I found myself in a room the size of a basketball court. But as I looked around I found that it was an actual basketball court, complete with hoops and everything. Along the walls were statues of the Egyptian gods. They must really be full of themselves, because I have yet to see any statues of the Greek gods, and most of them are pretty self-centered and arrogant.

            The hoops at the baselines were made out of statues of a falcon headed god that was facing the floor. It was pretty impressive, and I could see myself playing basketball here. Shaking the distracting thoughts out of my head I looked through the weapons that were on the on the walls. I had a feeling of deja-vu looking through them. It just reminded me of Otohime’s Palace.

            I walked down the sides of the court, trying to find Thanatos’s lost item. But nothing I saw resembled what Ares told me to find. Then again, he never told me _what_ I was specifically looking for. ‘A curved blade made out of Stygian Iron’ he said. Well there’s plenty of curved swords (more like bent beyond use if you ask me) but nothing made of Stygian Iron. And then there were these weird boomerangs. They were carved with even more, can you guess? Yep, hieroglyphics. Since the Egyptians are magicians, I guess hieroglyphics are the key to their magic.

            Getting back to the boomerangs, they felt like they were made of bone. I hope not human bone though. Then there were staffs. They didn’t seem like much, but as a demigod you learn not to judge anything by appearance alone.

            Climbing up the stairs to the next floor I instantly thought I was in a hotel. Seriously, this floor had so many rooms. I figured the mansion would be big, but I never actually thought it’d be like the TARDIS. It was going to take me forever to search all the rooms.

            All the rooms I searched through were luckily empty of residents. I was jealous of their set up though. They were like small apartments! They had their own kitchens and bathrooms and deck to sit out on. And there was still enough room for a king size bed and a closet that could almost be a walk in. The bed had this weird headrest though, and it looked really uncomfortable.

            After exiting the tenth bedroom I was searching through I almost walked into the kid from earlier. This little boy, maybe no older than ten, held a staff and one of those boomerangs in his hands. The boy looked sick, with puffy eyes and a stuffed up nose. He wasn’t alone. Standing beside him was a small flock of penguins. They puffed themselves up and were squawking at me threateningly.

I raised my hands up to show that I meant no harm. “This isn’t what it looks like.” I said defensively.

“Who are you?” the boy asked. “I’ve never seen you before. And tell the truth or I’ll freeze you.”

“Listen, uh…” I said.

“My name’s Felix.” he said.

“Felix.” I nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

“Why are you here?” Felix asked. “How did you get into Brooklyn House? The door can only be opened with magic, and I didn't open it.”

“I don’t know.” I said. “But I can’t leave yet, I’m looking for something, something that was stolen.”

Felix looked angry at that. “Nobody stole anything.”

“I would love to believe that.” I said. I tried lowering my hands but one of the penguins snapped at my fingers. “But I have a god who won’t let me go home until I get back was belonged to his friend.”

“What god is telling you to do this?” Felix asked curiously. “Was it Set? Uncle Amos said he was good now.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.” I said as I shook my head.

“Then you’ll make a nice ice statue until Carter and Sadie come back from school.” Felix said. Uh-oh. “Se-kebeb!!”

            Strange hieroglyphics appeared over Felix’s staff in a white light, the same color as snow. I was able to jump out of the way at the last second as a blast of cold energy hit the wall. Ice formed and spread across the wall, stretching up towards the ceiling and down across the floor. I really wanted to bring out my sword, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to fight a small child.

“I’m warning you Felix!” I said. “Please stop! I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Ha-di!” the boy yelled.

            More symbols appeared, and I had a feeling this spell was meant to hurt. I rolled out of the way as a table exploded. Nothing but splinters was left. Is this really magic?! I am so dead. Felix raised his staff again and about to say that Ha-di spell again, but I grabbed a vase and tossed it at him. The boy finished speaking his spell, which collided with the vase I threw. The vase blew up in between us, making enough force to make the penguins (which were statues, apparently) shatter into pieces.

            Felix picked himself up and tried to cast another spell, but I took the Yata no Kagami from my necklace and shined its power on Felix. After its silvery light fades Felix dropped his staff and boomerang before sitting on the floor. With the way he was acting now I think he was playing with some creature. I checked him over to see if he was hurt physically, but he seem uninjured.

“I’m sorry Felix.” I said. “The effects should wear off in a little bit. Enjoy the illusion though; I wanted to make it a happy one.”

            Continuing my search I kept looking through the rooms. In each and every room I found nothing remotely similar to what Ares described. And then I went into this one room, and it felt similar to the Hades Cabin. Everything made of wood was black, like the bed frame and the desk. The sheets were black and white, looking really comfortable. The walls were covered in what I guess were amulets. When I got close to one I could feel that there was power contained in each one.

            On the desk were textbooks and a jackal statue. I picked up and looked over the statue, but it saw nothing interesting about it. I went through the draws, finding only school supplies and more amulets, as well as a few blank scrolls. After digging through the closet and looking under the bed I found nothing. In exhaustion I fell on the bed, sliding my hands down my face.

            I just laid there, not knowing what to do next. If I can’t find the stolen item Ares would curse Sally and Paul. I don’t want any harm to come to them, and since Ares already has something against Percy he has extra incentive to hurt my adopted parents. But maybe if I can talk to Poseidon he can talk some sense to Ares. So there’s that plan, but how am I supposed to get to Atlantis?

            With a sigh I stood up and walked towards the door. On my way out I stubbed me foot against the desk rather hard. As I bounced around holding my foot the jackal statue fell over and broke. I tried picking up the pieces when I saw that it was spilling a black, ink like material. And as I watched the black substance flow out of the statue, it collected in on itself and formed a sickle. I thought it was a bit on the nose that Thanatos, the god of death, lost his sickle.

            And what I felt from that sickle, the power…it felt so much like that of Hades, but on a vastly different scale. The power in this sickle felt older than even my Bāchan. But she’s one of the oldest gods in the entire Shinto pantheon, what could be more powerful than her?

“You shouldn’t play with things you cannot hope to understand.” I freaked out and almost dropped the sickle.

            Turning around I saw a teenager with a pale complexion. His hair was slightly tousled, like he just got out of bed and his eyes were nice brown, like warm chocolate. There was a golden amulet around his neck hanging over his black muscle shirt. The legs of his black jeans were stuffed into his combat boots. He was also wearing a black leather jacket.

“N-Nico?” I said. This can’t be Nico, this person looks too old, closer to my age than the Nico I know. But I must admit that he looked really good.

“I’m not this Nico of whom you speak.” said Nico’s doppelgänger. “The name’s Walt.”

            And with that, the person who looked like Nico changed into a teen with coffee bean brown skin. His head was closely shaven and he looked very muscular. The clothes stayed the same, but I couldn’t help but wonder why he looked so similar to Nico the first time I looked at him.

“You’re only going to get one warning form me.” Walt said, his arms crossed as if that would keep his anger held back. “Drop the Scythe and leave before I make you. And you should be grateful I’m giving you this chance. I should just go ahead and lock you in a canopic jar for what you did to Felix.”

“In my defense,” I said, “He attacked first, and then I put him in Antarctica to play with baby penguins so he wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Doesn’t matter.” he said. “You came into our home and attacked a sick trainee.”

“I didn’t attack him, he attacked me!” I argued. “I put him in that illusion so we wouldn’t fight.”

Walt stared at me for a moment. “I can tell you are not a magician, but there is something about you.” he said. “What is your name?”

“Tsuna.” I said

“How did you come to know of the Scythe Tsuna?” he asked.

“I was told to retrieve a stolen item.” I said. “This stolen item.”

“And who told you it was stolen?” he asked.

“Ares.” I answered.

“Wait, you’re Greek?” Walt looked surprised by my answer.

“Yes and no.” I said. “Look, it’s really complicated.”

“We and the Greeks have a no interference treaty ever since Cleopatra and Alexander the Great.” Walt said. “And now Ares wants to cause a war over something he can’t control?”

“Ares sent me in here to get this back to Thanatos because you guys stole it.” I explained.

“That Scythe was not stolen.” Walt said. “I was given the task to watch over it. And I’m not going to let you take it.”

“You don’t understand.” I said. “If I don’t bring this back to Ares he’ll curse my family.”

“You have my sympathies, but it changes nothing.” Walt said. “The Greeks broke the treaty.”

“Technically, I’m not Greek,” I said, “So no treaty was broken.”

“I don’t understand.” Walt said, tipping his head to the side.

“I am the son of Susanoo.” I said.

“Susanoo? The Shinto sea god?” Walt asked. “You’re Shinto?” I nodded. “But I thought all the Shinto gods Faded?”

“Well, they didn’t.” I said. “Speaking of which, we’re going to have to discuss the fact that you guys have a base located in Tokyo.”

“There is nothing to discuss.” he said before he waved his hand. I was thrown into the, dropping the Scythe as I went flying.

            I struggled against whatever force was holding me against the wall. Walt leaned down and picked up the Scythe. Nothing wanted to move, not even my pinky. Walt stared at me and made a threat about I was going to suffer for breaking into this house and attempting to steal a powerful relic.

“I’ve heard threats like that before Walt.” I said. “But they never came through.” I felt the power of the Yasakani no Magatama rise. “So let me go!”

            The Magatama glowed and released a pulse of power that knocked Walt onto his back. That must have broken whatever force he had on me so I fell to the ground. Quickly picking myself up I ran to the Scythe and picked it up before Walt sat up. I ran out of the room as fast as I could. But once I was on the first floor Walt was already standing there, sword in hand, blocking the front door.

“I can’t allow something as powerful as the Scythe fall into the hands of Ares.” Walt said.

“Walt, please step aside.” I warned. “We don’t have to fight.”

“If you give back the Scythe then I will let you leave, without the memories of this place.” Walt offered.

“If I don’t return with this then Ares will bring harm to my family, and I won’t let that happen.” I said. “I’ve already lost too many people in my life that I care about.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” Walt said. He rushed me, and my sword appeared just in time as he striked. I pushed against him with my sword.

            As far as swordplay, he wasn’t as skilled as Percy or Nico, but he was good enough to keep me on my toes. But it was unfair that he was using magic against me as well. I did find out real fast though my sword deflects the spells. Seeing this as an issue Walt summoned jackal warriors to help him out. Totally unfair. I mean, who could have expected Walt to pull a Mummy Returns?

            I fought against larger groups of enemies, but those were just single minded monsters, not warriors. Plus the fact Walt was using magic which, like just said, was unfair. While I really didn’t want to hurt Walt, his jackal warriors were an entirely different matter.  They were an easy target. I just went to attack Walt and when they defended him I striked them down. The bad thing was that he kept summoning more.

            At one point Walt created some sort of cloth, like mummy wrappings, to try and distract me. I cut them apart easy enough, it was just another distraction. I made a wind storm around me that got rid of the mummy wrappings and slammed the jackal warriors into the wall with enough force to turn into sand.

            As soon as the wind storm died down Walt came close and slammed his sword into mine. I was thrown to floor by the force of the sudden attack. He swung down again just as I rolled out of the way. I saw a glass sliding door so I made a run for it. Walt used the Ha-di spell Felix used on me earlier, but I deflected it off my sword towards the glass door, shattering it open.

            Once I was on the terrace I saw a pool. Thinking that if I get into the water I’ll get enough of a power boost I ran straight for it. But as soon as I got close something huge burst from the water. It was a giant albino crocodile and it looked like it wanted to eat me whole, so I backed off.

“Give me back the Scythe Tsuna.” Walt demanded. “Ares cannot have something that powerful.”

“Then it’s a good thing that it’s going back to Thanatos, not Ares.” I said.

“As if Ares would give up one of the most powerful tools in all of Creation.” Walt said.

“This thing?” I asked, looking at the sickle. “I mean, yeah godly weapons are powerful, but I don’t see what’s so special about this thing.”

“Ares didn’t tell you what that is?” asked Walt.

“You know at this point I really don’t care.” I said. “I’m missing family dinner for this, and I really value my time with my family.”

Walt took a deep breath. “Tsuna, I’ll give you this one last chance.” he said. “If you give me back the Scythe now, then I’ll let you go home safe and sound.”

“You mean safe and sound from you, and maybe your pantheon.” I said, backing up. “But not from Ares. I can’t risk him hurting my family.”

The giant crocodile growled at me in irritation. “Easy Phillip.” Walt said. My back hit the railing of the terrace. Taking a look behind me, I saw the water of the New York Harbor.

“I’m sorry Walt.” I said.

            I looked at the pool where the crocodile was in and with a wave of my hand made a large wave that splashed down on Walt and the crocodile. Using the distraction I jumped over the ledge. But as I fell Walt must have launched one last spell at me. As soon as it hit, my vision was going black. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open, but I put everything I had into staying awake long enough to get into the water. And as soon as the water enveloped me I fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, when I read the chapter title I think of the opening song in Aladdin 3: The King of Thieves, so I 'sing' the title.
> 
> The last chapter will be posted on March 25th, the same day as my finals, so be on the look out!


	3. I have a Date with Death

            And here we are, back at the beginning of our little tale. I had just woken up underwater by being shook by a friendly harbor seal. I was pretty deep as I could barely see any light above me. As I shook my head, since everything was a little fuzzy still, I remembered getting hit by some sort of force that knocked me out. I almost freaked out, thinking I lost the Scythe but it was lying next to me, half buried in the sand.

            I shooed away the crabs and squid that were gathered around me. The crabs were asking if I could be their lunch while the squid scolded them for even thinking about eating me, the son of the sea god. They were getting annoying actually. While I was surrounded by the various sea creatures I noticed how they all avoided being close to the Scythe.

“Do you think you can give me a ride to the surface?” I asked the seal after digging the Scythe out. It nodded and let me wrap my arms around it before swimming off to the surface.

            When we broke the surface of the water the sun was just starting to set. So I missed dinner, not that big of a deal really, but I can still get home before Sally takes Percy to Camp Half Blood. And seeing how far out I was from the mainland I must have been caught in a current. I could just barely see the Statue of Liberty from here.

“You wouldn’t mind taking me back to shore will you?” I asked the seal. “Liberty Island would be fine too.” The seal barked, and it was kinda cute. “Thanks.”

            The seal only took me as far as Liberty Island, which was fine with me. I could take the next ferry to shore. After saying good bye to the seal I went to the dock to get a ticket to the mainland. The attendant said that the next one wouldn’t be here for another hour, so that was a bummer. An hour to kill on Liberty Island. What am I supposed to do here? My stomach growled so loud that a few tourists shot me look.

“ _Guess I should get something to eat_.” I thought. Checking my wallet I only had about three bucks on me. Let’s hope that there’s a hot dog stand or something around here.

            Lucky for me there was one. Good news is that at least the hot dogs looked fresh. The bad news is that there was a line. And with each second it felt like my stomach was eating itself. The line was moving so slow. Why were there so many people here this late?

“There you are Noble!” Oh that’s just fantastic. Just who I wanted to deal with on an empty stomach. Ares stormed next to me, pushing a few of the tourist out of his way. “Where have you been?!”

“Is that concern I hear in your voice Ares?” I said as I took a step closer to the hot dog stand. “I didn’t know you cared.”

“Don’t take that tone with me brat.” Ares warned. “You’ve kept me waiting for the past day and a half!”

“What?” I said. I hate losing time like this. I’m going to need the Doctor to help me get it back or something. “What did that magician hit me with?”

“Oh, so that’s what all the noise was about.” Ares said. “I wondered what was going on in that mansion.”

“You heard me fighting for my life in there and you didn’t bother to get me out of there?!” I yelled. “What in Tartarus is wrong with you!?”

“You’re clearly alright.” Ares said. “And don’t blame me for not saving you.”

“I wouldn’t have needed saving if you didn’t lie to me about the mansion being empty!” I yelled.

“I didn’t lie kid.” Ares said. “There was only a sick brat in there and I figured you could take him.”

“So you _LIED_!” I said stressing the point I was trying to get across.

“I DIDN’T LIE!!” screamed Ares.

            The ground shook and a few bushes burst into flame. The sunglasses he was wearing fell off, revealing eye sockets. Just eye sockets, no eyes. Instead they were filled with fire. The only way I could describe them would be the flames of war. Apt for Ares, I guess.        Out of reflex I raised the Scythe in self-defense since it was the only thing in my hands. Ares’s eyes went wide.

“Whoa there.” he said raising his arms defensively and backing up. Was he...scared of this thing? “Take it easy.” I threw him a questioning look before lowering the Scythe.

“Is there a problem here?” A security guard asked. He probably heard me and Ares fighting and came to break us apart.

“No there isn’t.” Ares growled. He pulled out five bucks and gave it to the guard. “Go buy a doughnut or something.”

The guard’s eyes clouded over. “Yeah, okay. Thank you sir.” At that moment my stomach growled. It was actually painful. Why did I skip lunch at school? Oh wait, I remember. The meatloaf looked disgusting.

“Here, let me get you a hot dog.” Ares mumbled. That surprised the Hell out of me. But then he actually did it! He handed it to me, and I just stared at it in shock. “Hurry up and eat.”

            I ate slowly, just wondering why Ares would do something this nice after I ticked him off. Ares glared me while I ate which made me very uncomfortable. The tension was thick in the air. Ares was getting impatient cause his leg was bouncing. As soon as I finished eating Ares jumped off the bench.

“Geez, could you eat any slower?” Ares asked.

I rolled my eyes at him and tossed my garbage away. “Thanks for the food.”

“I hope you have the stomach to do what’s next.” Ares said.

“Stomach for what?” I asked. Ares didn’t answer. It was then I realized that I was Times Square. “What the-? We’re back in Manhattan?”

“What I need you to do next is here in New York.” Ares said.

“What am I going to do?” I asked.

“I’ll brief you later.” Ares said.

“How about you tell me now?” I asked.

“Because I said so, so shut up.” Ares said. “Where are they?”

“What are we waiting for?” I asked. Ares ignored me.

            A minute later a red car with darker red flames on the sides came barreling around the corner. Whoever was driving was being incredibly careless and not even caring for the people. But luckily the car never hit any pedestrians. The music was insanely loud and it shook the windows. Through the tinted windows I saw two people bickering. Ares banged on the roof of the car to get whoever was inside out.

            Two teenage boys stepped out of the car. They were twins and didn’t even bother having different outfits to tell them apart, wearing ratty jeans, black shirts and leather biker jackets. Well, I say that, but there were small differences. One was wearing a bandanna on his head while the other had a face filled with scars. They actually looked like two wannabe Ares.

“What took you two so long?” Ares demanded.

“It was my turn to drive the Chariot!” said the one with the scars.

“No its mine!” the bandana wearing teen said. “You’re the one who drove it last! Remember, our prank on our little sister?”

“You’re the one who drove it that time!” said Scarface Jr. Bandanna teen jumped on Scarface and started pummeling him. It was kinda funny seeing two biker knock offs kicking each other’s butts.

“Knock it off!!” Ares yelled. He leaned down and grabbed the two boys by the scruff of their necks and knocked their heads together. “Get out of here.”

“Yes father.” The boys said. Before they left, they shot me a look which sent a chill up my spine.

“Your kids?” I asked.

“Phobos and Deimos.” Ares said. “They like to take my War Chariot out for joy rides. They stole it from Clarisse once just to put her in my bad favors.”

“Fascinating.” I said, not really caring.

            Ares knocked his hand on the roof of the car. It shimmered before changing into Ares’s motorcycle. He hopped on and was going to hand me a helmet before he looked at the Scythe in my hand. Why is he so scared of this thing? Changing his mind Ares turned his motorcycle back into the red hot rod.

“Get in.” Ares said.

            I just stood there, giving him a questioning look. I looked to my left. Just a few block to the subway station and ten minutes of walking from there after a twenty minute ride I would be back home. I was so tempted to just make a run for it.

“We don’t have all damn day, so hurry up!” Ares screamed.

“So why did you change this back into the car?” I asked after I buckled the seat belt.

“I didn’t want to risk anything.” Ares explained.

“Risk what?” I asked, though Ares didn’t answer as he started driving.

            It was so uncomfortable in the car. The silence was grating on my nerves. I mean, I was willing to talk to my kidnapper for gods sake. I really don’t know how long we were driving around New York. When I saw we passed my apartment I tried to open the door and just jump out of the car. Ares must have noticed because he locked the doors. Damn, I was so close.

“So why are you so scared of this thing?” I asked out of complete boredom.

            That was a big mistake on my part. I was so lucky that I was buckled in because as soon as I was done saying my question Ares slammed his foot on the brake. I still had to brace myself so my head wouldn’t slam into the dashboard. People honked from behind us, so at least Ares didn’t cause a pile up.

The god of war grabbed me by the front of my shirt and brought me so close to his face I could see the fire of his eyes through his sunglasses. “Let’s get this straight you miserable little brat.” Ares was seething in anger. “I am not afraid of anything. Not you. Not that little gardener’s tool. Nothing.” He was basically spitting in my face at this point. “If you ever say that again I will turn you into a cockroach and smash you with the heel of my boot and then scrap you off with my knife and do it again. You might think you’re special punk, with dear old uncle Fishbeard’s protection, but you’re not, got that?!”

“Yes sir.” I squeaked out after swallowing the lump in throat.

            Ares continued to glare at me for a second before a honk from behind broke his gaze. Letting out a deep breath he pushed me, rather roughly might I add, back against me seat. He drove through the city until the stars were starting to come out. Ares parked the car after he pulled into an alley.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“I lied to you kid.” Ares said. “The Egyptians didn’t steal that thing.”

“So I probably caused an inter-pantheonal war for nothing?!” I said. “Does this belong to the Egyptians?!”

Ares smirked. “I lied to you about them being the thieves, not about the sickle being stolen.” he said. “The actual thief who gave the Egyptians that little tool there is sitting in there eating.” Looking through the window I saw that we were parked behind some Italian restaurant. I was still hungry despite eating that hot dog earlier, and Italian is my favorite food.

“’Kay, so?” I asked.

“So…” Ares said. “I want you to go in there and kill the thief with that sickle.”

My jay dropped. “Excuse me?!”

“You heard me.” Ares said.

“I don’t know what you take me for, but I’m no murderer.” I spat. I opened the car door and stormed away from that asshole of a god. How dare he ask me to just go and kill someone like that? I had to get away from there before Ares’s influence made me want to use the Scythe on him.

Ares slammed his door. “I take you as someone who will protect his family.” I stopped in my tracks, which must have amused Ares. “You remember what I told you I’d do to your adopted parents?” I glared at the bastard. “I’ll take that as a yes. But I’ll make it worse if you don’t do as I say.”

I was afraid to ask, but I needed to know. “How?”

“How what?” Ares asked.

“How will you make it worse?” I asked.

“I’ll make them be hunted by monsters until they die.” Ares said. “I think I’ll even throw in a few boars into the mix. And if you and that sea brat Jackson try to help them, you will both fail and be forced to watch your new family be ripped to shreds.”

“You’re lying.” I said.

“Try me.” the god looked serious.

            And gods have done terrible things to mortals who angered them. Sally and Paul are the nicest people on the planet, taking me in, so I can’t put them in harm’s way. Percy told me that Ares cursed Riptide to fail him when he needs it most, like at what happened when he went to save Annabeth and Artemis from Atlas, so Ares always goes through with his threats.

“Wh-who’s…” I took a breath and hated myself. “Who’s in there?” Gods, I wanted to throw up for even asking that.

“It doesn’t matter.” Ares said. “Just go in and kill the thief.”

“How will I know which person in there I have to k-kill?” I asked.

“Use your demigod instincts.” Ares said. “You should be able to sense your target.” He put one arm around my shoulders and led me to the back door of the restaurant. “Now get going.”

“What will the Mist make the Mortals see?” I asked.

“Who cares?” said Ares.

“I do, cause I don’t want to be labeled as a serial killer.” I said.

“Eh, they’ll probably not even notice.” Ares said. “This Mist in there is really thick.”

            The back door was unlocked so I opened it a little bit. The most amazing smells filled my nose and my mouth was watering. I could see freshly made bread sticks and pizzas just coming out of the ovens. A waiter came into the kitchen and took a New York Strip.

“ _Time for a disguise_.” I thought.

            Grabbing the Yata no Kagami I used its power to give me a waiter’s uniform. Black dress pants with a white button up shirt and black vest, you know, the whole nine yards. I even had an apron around my waist and a bow tie. And, if you know me than you’d be surprised if I didn’t say it, bow ties are cool.

            As this was a great time to use my acting skills, I just went in and acted like I worked there. Nobody paid any attention to me, though that might have something to do with the Yata no Kagami’s power. Before I walked onto the front of house I just stared at the Chicken Cordon Bleu and the Angel Haired Pasta. I need to bring the others here one time. Maybe I can convince Nico to come here with me too, or would he be offended at my stereotyping of his Italian heritage? Couldn’t hurt to try, would it?

            A chef yelled at me to get back to work, so I grabbed a jug of ice water and walked to the dining room. So many people were in here, how was I supposed to know who I had to kill? Gods I hate myself for doing what Ares wants. ‘Just concentrate on saving Sally and Paul’ was a mantra in my head. And if I do this, there will be no war. Weird, ever since I realized I was a demigod I’ve had to prevent all-out war between different pantheons of gods. I hope this isn’t what I am destined to do forever.

            The customers were giving me strange looks, as if they knew I wasn’t a waiter. At first I thought my disguise went away, but since I could still see my waiter outfit that idea was thrown out the window. Maybe it is because I’m walking in and out between tables trying to find my…target.

            And then I saw him. A man sitting all by himself in the middle of the dining room. I don’t know how, but I knew this was the man, or god, or whatever he is that Ares wants me to assassinate. It was just something I felt, in the pit of my stomach. I can’t even see his face because his back was towards me, but I still knew.

            I took my time walking over to the man. I could tell he was elderly, just because of the vibe he gave off. To his right was a black wooden cane leaning against his table. I think the handle was a metal skull, but I wasn’t sure. And as I walked closer to him I raised the Scythe over my head.

            Walking over I couldn’t help but start thinking who in the world is actually capable from stealing from a god. Hermes might be able to do it, but a god can’t steal another’s symbol of power. A demigod could do it, but as far as I know Luke Castellan was the only one I’ve heard of that can do it. And from what Percy and Annabeth told me Luke was skilled enough to steal not one, but two symbols of power, from both Hades and Zeus. Granted those two just left their weapons out in the open with no one guarding them, but still. But since Luke is no longer with us, there is no human on earth who can steal from a god.

            And then there’s the Scythe in my hand. That Walt kid was giving it his all to take it back from me. Ares seemed scared of it, despite his claims of not fearing anything, when I raised it in self-defense. What is it about this thing that’s so damn special? And why is it now giving off a power that feels…old? I honestly don’t know how to describe it other than old, really old. Older than the Olympian Council I’m positive.

            I was standing right behind the old man now. He didn’t even know I was there. He was too engrossed in his meal, which consisted of so many dishes. The Scythe was feeling heavy in my hand. My heart was beating like crazy. I tried to swing down, but my arm wouldn’t obey. And I knew why.

            I just couldn’t do it. It’s not who I am, who I was raised to be. No matter what threat Ares makes, he can’t make me murder anyone. I backed up a few steps and lowered the Scythe to my side. Ares can make his little threats. But I will not fail in keeping Sally and Paul safe, even if it costs me my life. With that in mind I turned to leave.

“You made a very wise choice Tsunayoshi.”

            I stopped dead in my tracks, frozen with fear. That man knew I was there? How?  My hand felt empty. I looked down and saw that the Scythe was gone. I was scared. I turned around and saw that the Scythe was on the edge of the old man’s table.

“Come, sit.” the old man said, indicating at the empty chair on the other side of the table.

            I slowly made my way over and sat down. I was too scared to look the man in the face, so I kept my gaze down. It was then that I noticed that my waiter disguise was gone. When did that happen? I don’t think I have ever been so terrified as I am in this moment.

“Come now Tsuna, it is very impolite not to look your host in the eye.” he said. Afraid that he’ll do something worse I looked up.

            This old man was eating while he stared at me. He was wearing a dark business suit with a grey tie. His hair was combed back, making it seem longer than it probably was, and showed off his forehead. His face had subtle wrinkles to it, giving an aged appearance. He had this whole Hades vibe to him, what with his pale skin and an aura of authority. He was so thin too, much thinner than Nico. On his right ring finger was a silver ring with a white square stone set in it. In the back of my mind I couldn’t help think where he was putting all this food. After swallowing the lump in my throat my stomach growled because of all this food in front of me. Why would I even be hungry at a time like this, I don’t know.

The old man scooped up some Chicken Marsala onto a plate for me. “Eat.” he said. “You must be starving.” I glanced between him and the food. “Eat.” he insisted. My hand shook as I grabbed a fork and cut a piece of chicken. He watched me take a bit out of it and waited as I swallowed. “Good, isn’t it?” I nodded.

“Who…who are you?” I was out of my mind terrified.

“You’re a smart boy.” said the old man. “Figure it out.” He took a sip of Coke.

            I couldn’t help but glance over at the Scythe. I could still feel the power and age it was radiating. Walt said that he was given the Scythe to watch over it, and that even Ares couldn’t comprehend its power. Remembering the frightened look Ares had when I raised it against him on Liberty Island, I had to think as to why he would be scared. It wasn’t made of any of the magical metals that I know of, so he couldn’t possibly get hurt by it. But then why would he be scared of it? Unless it _is_ older than him, older than the Olympian Council. Looking back, Ares looked scared to death of it. Death. That one word just repeated in my mind. Death. Death. _Death_.

My eyes went wide with the realization. “Y-you can’t be…” I said, feeling smaller now than when I was standing in front of the entire Olympian Council. “I mean, how can you be… _the_ Death?”

“What were you expecting?” asked Death.

“I, I don’t know what to expect.” I admitted.

“Who did you think that belonged to?” Death asked, casually pointing a finger at the Scythe.

Barely louder than a whisper, I said “Thanatos…”

“It may look similar to his own scythe,” Death started, “But Thanatos merely modeled his after my own. His attempt to get in my good favors, I suppose.” He leaned forward a bit so he could get a little closer to me. “Gaea did the same thing, you know, when she crafted that weapon for Kronos to chop of Ouranus.” I just noticed how he rarely blinks when he talks. “You’re awfully quiet Tsuna.”

“Forgive me…” I said, trying to be as polite and respectful as possible. I didn’t even do that for Zeus.

“Why are you so scared?” Death asked curiously.

“I-I’m…” I didn’t know how to say this to _THE_ Death. “I’m afraid to die.”

“Everyone is afraid of death Tsuna.” He said. “But your time is quite far from now.”

I looked up quickly. “What do you mean? Aren’t you going to kill me?”

“Why would I do that?” Death asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I just tried to kill you-” I started.

“Believe me; you wouldn’t have been able to do so.” Death said. “When I forged my Scythe I…” He paused, searching for the right word. “Programmed it so it can never harm me. And even if you really wanted to, you wouldn’t have gotten far.” As if on cue, all the patrons of the restaurant stood up and disappeared.

“What did you do to them?!” I yelled. Death calmly bit into a Mozzarella Stick.

“I did nothing.” he said. “I just sent them off to work.”

“Work?” I asked.

“They are my Reapers.” Death said. “They have been helping me with gathering the souls of the dead for…well, since the beginning.”

“What about my Bāchan?” I asked.

“What about your grandmother?” asked Death. “Oh that’s right. Izanami. Speaking of which.”

I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw my grandmother just pop up in the seat next to mine looking terrified. “Bāchan!”

“Tsuna, I’m so sor-” she started, but Death went ‘Shhh’ and her voice went away. She grabbed her throat in as she struggled to make any sound.

“I have been getting a lot of complaints because of your grandmother wasn’t able to Reap you properly.” Death said as he rubbed his temples. “All the reports are driving me insane. And then Izanami annoyingly begged me not to Reap you ever since you came back to life. I was tempted, if only to get the complaints to stop.”

“What about the, um,” What did Bāchan and Ojīchan say it was called? “The…Natural Order?”

“I’m sure your grandfather mentioned I make exceptions from time to time, did he not?” He looked over to Bāchan who tried to speak, but since she didn’t have her voice she just nodded. I nodded to confirm it. “Well, you’re an exception. I guess it put you in my favors, seeing you sacrifice yourself for your loved ones. Most people would have let them die rather than risk the lives of millions. And just so you know, if I didn’t make an exception in your case, you wouldn’t have been revived, soul exchange or not.”

“I would die a thousand times over as long as I knew Percy and Nico would be safe.” I said.

Death’s lips slightly, just barely, curved upwards. “Of course you would. I will tell you this Tsuna, you surprised me.” he said. “Most people would have accepted another chance at life, taking the exchange of one’s life for their own, but you didn’t. You accepted your fate, and was about to move on, if it wasn’t for Ryūjin being the stubborn dragon that he was.”

Bāchan reached over and gripped my hand and tried to speak, but Death spoke up again. “You are not off the hook yet Izanami.” Death said, and he his voice took on a more threatening tone. “Trying to get your own grandson to kill himself, even going as far as pulling a Final Destination on him.” He looked angry, his pupils taking up his entire sockets, which made him look more skeletal. “You have shamed your duty as a Reaper, as the goddess of the Dead. Someone as special as Tsuna will have the honor of being Reaped by me, when it is his time to move on. Try to Reap him again, and I’ll put you on secretarial duty for the next millennium. Do you understand me?” Bāchan nodded. Death twirled his fingers and her voice came back.

“Please don’t be harsh on her.” I said sincerely. Both Death and Bāchan gave me surprised looks.

“Tsuna…” said Bāchan.

“You’re not mad at her?” asked Death. “She wanted you to die.”

“I know.” I said. “But she’s just doing the job you gave her. I can’t really be that mad at her for that. Yes, it hurts to know that my own grandma wants me to die, but what I think she really wants is to have familial company. It has to be lonely down in the Yomi.”

Death let out a small, barely noticeable chuckle. “You continue to surprise me.” He turned to Bāchan. “Consider this your one warning Izanami. Next time I won’t be as forgiving.”

“Thank you.” she said as she bowed. She turned back to me and gripped my hand tightly. “Thank you Tsuna. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

“You’re my Bāchan.” I said. “I can’t stay mad at you. You’re family.”

Bāchan smiled and kissed my forehead. “Stay safe Tsuna. I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.”

“Thank you Bāchan.” I said. After I blinked she was gone.

“Well, now that that’s done, there is only one matter left to discuss.” Death said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Simple, you need to apologize to the god that was guarding my Scythe.” Death said.

“God?” I asked. “You mean that Walt kid?”

“Walter Stone is merely a vessel.” Death said. “I’m talking about Anubis.”

            As if he heard his name Anubis walked from around the corner. And it wasn’t the teen I was fighting in the Egyptian mansion. Standing there was the boy who looked like an older Nico. And I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t think he looked good. Really good.

“Nico…” I said as if I was in a daze.

Anubis growled. “For the last time, I am not this Nico.” he said. “I don’t even know who that is.”

“He’s talking about the son of Hades.” Death said as he buttered up a piece of toasted garlic bread. He looked up at Anubis after taking a bite. “Now that he mentioned it, the two of you do look slightly similar. Could probably even pass as brothers, if you stood side by side.”

“Do you know Nico?” I asked.

“Not personally.” Death said. “But I have seen him around, I just haven’t met him. There’s so much potential in that boy.”

            It became uncomfortably quiet after that. Death continued to eat, taking a sip of his drink every now and them. Anubis was standing at Death’s side, almost like a loyal dog or something.

“Look, Anubis…” I started, “I’m sorry for even going into your mansion. I didn’t even want to be there, let alone steal anything from you. Ares made me do it. And I’m sorry for what I did to Felix. I hope I didn’t hurt him. If I did I am even sorrier.”

“Felix is fine.” Anubis said after letting out a sigh. “Actually, he was disappointed that his trip to Antarctica wasn’t real. Nice illusion, by the way. It took a lot more magical energy for me to break it than I expected. But why did Ares want the Scythe?”

“Probably because Thanatos hasn’t reported in in a while.” Death spoke up. “Ares must have thought that he could take his place as god of death by having me killed.” It must have shown I didn’t understand, so Death explained. “Thanatos and Ares have been close friends ever since that power hungry war monger saved him from capture, so he knows a bit more than your average god about our line of work.”

“As if his little coup would work.” Anubis said.

I laughed a little. “I don’t think Ares in one to think things through.” As I finished that sentence I flinched, because Ares was sitting in his car right in back. And if he heard me he’ll come in all guns blazing any second now.

“Don’t worry about Ares or his little threat for your parents.” Death said. “I’ll deal with him myself.”

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” I asked.

“Death wouldn’t lower himself to killing Ares.” Anubis said.

Death shot Anubis a small look of annoyance. “I can speak for myself, Anubis, thank you.” Death turned his attention back to me. “I’ll do you a favor Tsuna. I’ll alter the last…let’s say forty-eight hours of his memory to get you out of the fire.”

“Thank you.” I said, relief filling me up like air. Death reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a silver pocket watch.

“Oh would you look at the time.” Death said. “It’s getting late.” He stood up and grabbed his cane. I just noticed how his Scythe disappeared when I wasn’t paying attention to it. “You need to get back to that Camp of yours Tsuna.”

“What Camp?” asked Anubis.

“Oh, that’s right, different pantheons aren’t technically supposed to know about each other.” Death said. “Hm. Pay no attention Anubis. “You need to return all your attention back to that Kane girl of yours, if she’s as demanding as you have told me.”

Anubis turned to leave but I stood up and ran over to him. “I’m sorry.” I said, sticking my hand out to shake.

“You already apologized.” Anubis said, tilting his head to the side, which reminded me of a dog. My mind just went to seeing Anubis with dog ears and a tail, so I quickly deleted that image from my mind.

“But I felt like I needed to say it again.” I said. I held my hand out to him so we could shake, but he acted like he never heard of such a thing. But finally he took my hand and shook.

“We’ll meet each other soon Tsuna.” Anubis said with a smile. “One day.” Anubis walked out the door when Death spoke up again.

“Well Ares is taken care of.” he said.

“How did you do that in the few seconds it took me to say goodbye to Anubis?” I asked.

“When you’re as old as God you learn a thing or two.” Death said. Wait, what did he say?

“God?” I asked. “As in big ‘G’ God? _The_ God? He really is real?”

“He is.” Death said. “But trying to explain His place in the cosmos to you in your already complicated world would take too much time, and I am very busy.” Death stared at me, boring his gaze into what felt like my soul. “Just a warning for you Tsuna. Be careful in the coming year.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going to ha-” What in the name of the Doctor? When did we get to Half-Blood Hill? “Wow, you move fast.” Turning back to Death I saw him staring at me again while leaning in his cane. “What is it?”

“There’s something about you Tsuna.” Death said. “Something special.” He twisted off his ring and held it out for me to take.

“Uh, thanks?” I said, not sure what to do with it. “But already have a ring.”

Death rolled his eyes. “I’m giving you one more favor boy.” he said. “My ring will allow you to get my attention, when the time comes. And I guess it has other feature as well, some you will like and some…not so much. All I ask is that you never take this ring off.” He dropped it into my hand.

I slipped the silver ring on my left middle finger. “I’m honored.” I said. “Thank you.” Death stared at me again, and it was freaking me out.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Death said before he disappeared.

            I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of Thalia’s Pine. This is the first time I have relaxed since I met with Ares earlier today. As I walked down the hill I was greeted by a group of armored demigods. There heading at me with their swords drawn and spears pointed at me.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” I asked. There were a lot of newbies in this group.

“What is it?” yelled a very recognizable voice. “What came into Camp borders?” Clarisse pushed her way through the group of young demigods, Maimer in hand. “Tuna Head? Where in Hades have you been?!”

“Hello Clarisse.” I said with a touch of Hannibal Lector. “It’s good to see you too. Could you do me a favor and get these kids to back off?”

“Stand down everyone, he’s one of us.” Clarisse said. The younger demigods sheathed their swords and stepped back.

“Clarisse, what’s going on?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you here.” Clarisse said, craning her neck towards the young demigods. “Let’s get you to the Big House.”

“Why?” She didn’t answer me. She just grabbed my wrist and yanked me with her.

            She pulled me straight into the War Room. All the cabin leaders were here. Connor and Travis Stoll, Will Solace, Miranda Gardiner, all of my friends. Chiron was in his wheel chair. All of them looked upset, but none more than Annabeth. Miranda was trying to comfort her, but Annabeth looked wrecked. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears stained her cheeks and her hair was a mess.

“Guys what happened?” I asked. “Why is everyone in War Mode?”

“Tsuna!” Will yelled when he noticed me standing in the doorway. He stood up, knocking his chair over, before he came over and hugged me tight, his arms wrapping around my neck. Was he that worried about me? I slowly wrapped my arms around his waist, and then noticed how my heart was beating just a little bit faster and my cheeks felt a little warm. “We were so worried!”

“Where were you Tsunayoshi?” Chiron asked.

“I was doing something for Ares.” I said as Will and I let go of each other. Will kept his hand on my shoulder. Clarisse just barely stopped herself from reacting to her dad’s name. “But what’s going on?” Wait, if this is a war council meeting, then where’s…

“Where’s my brother?” I asked. Everyone gave me a solemn look, and Will squeezed my shoulder tightly. “Where is Percy?!” Annabeth mumbled something into her hands before she let out another sob.

I walked over and placed my hand on her shoulder. I regretted it though, because she broke out crying and pulled me into a tight hug. “Annabeth, what happened?” I asked as I rubbed her back.

“Percy.” She bawled.

“What about him?” I asked. This was scaring me. She pulled away and looked at me with her blood shot eyes.

“Percy’s missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what do we have here? A cliff hanger? Oh my...
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this sequel. Please tell me what you think, I like to know what you guys enjoyed and what not. That and your theories, if you have any you wish to share. Those are always fun to read.
> 
> Be on the look out for the third entry to the Umi no Musuko series, The Town with Magic.


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